Medical Device Control Interface

ABSTRACT

An interface component is provided for use with a first glove and a medical equipment component. The interface component comprises at least one switch located on the first glove, where each of the at least one switch provides a control signal to the medical equipment component. The interface component may further comprise a controller coupled to the plurality of switches, a power supply module coupled to the controller, and a wireless communications interface coupled to the controller in communication with a wireless interface of the medical equipment component.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to medical procedures usingan access port, and more specifically to a medical device controlinterface.

BACKGROUND

Port-based surgery allows a surgeon, or robotic surgical system, toperform a surgical procedure involving tumor resection in which theresidual tumor remaining after is minimized, while also minimizing thetrauma to the intact white and grey matter of the brain. In suchprocedures trauma may occur, for example due to contact with the accessport, stress to the brain matter, unintentional impact with surgicaldevices, and/or accidental resection of healthy tissue.

Minimally invasive brain surgery using access ports is a recentlyconceived method of performing surgery on brain tumors previouslyconsidered inoperable. To address intracranial surgical concerns,specific products such as the NICO BrainPath™ port have been developedfor port-based surgery.

Referring to FIG. 1, the insertion of an access port into a human brainis shown for providing access to internal brain tissue during a medicalprocedure. In FIG. 1, access port 100 is inserted into a human brain 12,providing access to internal brain tissue. Surgical tools andinstruments may then be inserted within the lumen of the access port inorder to perform surgical, diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, such asresecting tumors as necessary.

As seen in FIG. 1, port 100 comprises of a cylindrical assembly formedof an outer sheath. Port 100 may accommodate an introducer which is aninternal cylinder that slidably engages the internal surface of port100. The introducer may have a distal end in the form of a conicalatraumatic tip to allow for insertion into the sulcal folds of the brain12. Port 100 has a sufficient diameter to enable bimanual manipulationof surgical tools within its annular volume such as suctioning devices,scissors, scalpels, and cutting devices.

Referring to FIG. 2, an exemplary navigation system is shown to supportminimally invasive access port-based surgery. As shown in FIG. 2, asurgeon 103 conducts a minimally invasive port-based surgery on apatient 120 in an operating room (OR) environment. A navigation system107 comprising an equipment tower, tracking system, displays and trackedinstruments assists the surgeon 103 during his procedure. An operator121 is also present to operate, control and provide assistance for thenavigation system 107.

A foot pedal 155 is placed near the surgeon's foot and is utilized toactuate different elements during the procedure. For example, foot pedal155 may be used to lift or lower the surgical bed, or control zoom ofthe navigation system 107 or tracking system. In certain instances,multiple foot pedals may be deployed.

Conventional foot pedals used by a surgeon during a surgical procedure,particularly when multiple foot pedals are used, can be a distractingand menial task, given the surgeon must sometimes remove his focus fromthe surgical field of interest, resulting in the surgeon having toreorient himself when his attention is returned. Therefore, there is anopportunity for improvement in the area of surgical controls. Thus,there is a need for mechanism to provide improved functionality andreplacement of the foot pedal.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present description provides an interface componentfor use with a first glove and a medical equipment component. Theinterface component comprises at least one switch located on the firstglove, where each of the at least one switch provides a control signalto the medical equipment component. The interface component may furthercomprise a controller coupled to the at least one switch, a power supplymodule coupled to the controller, and a wireless communicationsinterface coupled to the controller in communication with a wirelessinterface of said medical equipment component.

In one example, the first glove includes a surgical glove and theinterface component is integrated into the surgical glove. In anotherexample, the first glove is designed to be used with a second surgicalglove and the first glove is wearable underneath the second surgicalglove. In yet another example, the first glove is designed to be usedwith a second surgical glove and the first glove is wearable over top ofthe second surgical glove.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides an interface componentfor use with a surgical glove and a medical equipment component. Theinterface component comprises at least one switch located on theinterface component, each of the at least one switch providing a controlsignal to the medical equipment component. The interface component iswearable on a hand of a surgeon either over top of or underneath thesurgical glove.

A further understanding of the functional and advantageous aspects ofthe disclosure can be realized by reference to the following detaileddescription and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, withreference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the insertion of an access port into a human brain,for providing access to internal brain tissue during a medicalprocedure;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary navigation system to support minimallyinvasive access port-based surgery;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating components of an exemplary surgicalsystem used in port based surgery;

FIG. 4 illustrates various foot pedals and foot positioning of surgeonsduring commonly performed neurosurgeries;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary surgical glove interface;

FIG. 6 is block diagram showing an exemplary navigation system orsurgical system which may be used with the surgical glove interfaceshown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 shows a number of tables describing input commands for exemplarysurgical instruments that can be coupled with the surgical gloveinterface shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart describing the general steps in a port basedneurosurgical procedure;

FIG. 9 is a chart illustrating features of various embodiments of thesurgical glove interface when used in a surgical context;

FIG. 10 shows another exemplary surgical glove interface according toaspects of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 11 shows yet another exemplary surgical glove interface accordingto aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments and aspects of the disclosure will be described withreference to details discussed below. The following description anddrawings are illustrative of the disclosure and are not to be construedas limiting the disclosure. Numerous specific details are described toprovide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventionaldetails are not described in order to provide a concise discussion ofembodiments of the present disclosure.

As used herein, the terms, “comprises” and “comprising” are to beconstrued as being inclusive and open ended, and not exclusive.Specifically, when used in the specification and claims, the terms,“comprises” and “comprising” and variations thereof mean the specifiedfeatures, steps or components are included. These terms are not to beinterpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps orcomponents.

As used herein, the term “exemplary” means “serving as an example,instance, or illustration,” and should not be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other configurations disclosed herein.

As used herein, the terms “about” and “approximately” are meant to covervariations that may exist in the upper and lower limits of the ranges ofvalues, such as variations in properties, parameters, and dimensions. Inone non-limiting example, the terms “about” and “approximately” meanplus or minus 10 percent or less.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinare intended to have the same meaning as commonly understood to one ofordinary skill in the art. Unless otherwise indicated, such as throughcontext, as used herein, the following terms are intended to have thefollowing meanings:

As used herein, the phrase “access port” refers to a cannula, conduit,sheath, port, tube, or other structure that is insertable into asubject, in order to provide access to internal tissue, organs, or otherbiological substances. In some embodiments, an access port may directlyexpose internal tissue, for example, via an opening or aperture at adistal end thereof, and/or via an opening or aperture at an intermediatelocation along a length thereof. In other embodiments, an access portmay provide indirect access, via one or more surfaces that aretransparent, or partially transparent, to one or more forms of energy orradiation, such as, but not limited to, electromagnetic waves andacoustic waves.

As used herein the phrase “intraoperative” refers to an action, process,method, event or step that occurs or is carried out during at least aportion of a medical procedure. Intraoperative, as defined herein, isnot limited to surgical procedures, and may refer to other types ofmedical procedures, such as diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

The use of switches in presently performed surgical procedures is auseful feature for convenient control of the surgical devices andsystems involved. However, presently available actuation devices resultin inefficiencies that must be overcome by the surgeon and/or surgicalteam. Examples of such inefficiencies will be described below.

There are many sources of ergonomic issues encountered during commonthoracic surgeries shown using foot pedals. The use of foot pedalscreates problems associated with physical, perceptual, and cognitiveuse. The present application aims to address these problems and othersassociated with presently used actuation or control devices.

In an ideal surgical procedure, a surgeon will minimize the amount oftime in which his focus is away from the surgical site of interest. Thisincludes minimizing the time during which the surgeon is not viewing thesurgical site of interest as well as the time during which the surgeonis not in the bimanual procedural position or any other potentialinstance which can be avoided to minimize the time required for thesurgery. When utilizing a foot pedal switch as described above,inefficiencies can be attributed to the situations described below.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a diagram is shown illustrating components ofan exemplary surgical system such as the medical navigation system 107used in port based surgery. Reference is also made to FIG. 4, whichshows various foot pedals and foot positioning of a surgeon duringcommonly performed surgeries. In one instance the surgeon may have toreposition one or more foot pedals 155 when he changes his orientationrelative to the patient during surgery, indicated by reference 300 (FIG.4). When this occurs, the surgeon's focus is removed from the surgicalarea of interest to correctly reposition the foot pedal 155. Inaddition, this may also require the surgeon to remove his tools from thebimanual procedural position as well.

During a medical procedure a surgeon may have to use the foot pedals 155in an inopportune (e.g., non-ergonomic) position. Various operatingstances can require the surgeon to position himself awkwardly andtherefore make the use of a pedal inefficient and difficult to do withaccuracy. In one example, the surgeon may be leaning over the patientrequiring the surgeon to fully extend his leg and even have to stand onhis toes. It is apparent that in such a stance the resulting positioningof the foot would make it difficult for the surgical personnel tooperate the foot pedal because in such a position the heel of the footwould be elevated from the ground. Even if the foot is located on theground, but is fully extended, the ball of the foot will be difficult touse in a flexion as it would be required for stability of the surgeon.Therefore, using the foot to operate the foot pedal in such a positionwould reduce the amount of precision when engaging the foot pedalthrough a plantar flexion movement. This situation may also require thesurgeon to move the pedal(s) 155 positioning on the floor of theoperating room resulting in increased time required for the surgicalprocedure and hence decreasing efficiency of the operation.

The surgeon may also have to use multiple foot pedals 155 during asurgical procedure requiring him to differentiate between foot pedalsthrough proprioception, estimated foot pedal placement knowledge, andhis sense of touch as opposed to knowing with a greater certainty thelocation of the pedal 155 he wants to actuate relative to his footposition. This estimation of pedal 155 location using touch andproprioception may also be inhibited by the wearing of shoes. If thesurgeon is unable to locate the pedal 155 using the three sensesmentioned, the surgeon will be again required to remove his focus fromthe surgical site of interest and his tools from the bimanual proceduralposition in order to do so. It should be noted that this is aconsequence of free placement of the pedals 155 on the floor, since thepedals 155 aren't placed at a “known” relative position (e.g., aposition relative to the surgical bed or area of interest) that thesurgeon could intuitively find using touch or proprioception knowledgein combination with previous surgical experience. Other issues inlocating and engaging the foot pedal(s) 155 may be caused when the footpedal 155 is placed under the surgical bed, where it would be out ofsite of the surgeon and may require the surgeon to spend more timelocating the pedal(s) 155 as opposed to being positioned in clear site.

At points during the surgery the surgeon may have to stand and utilizemotor functions in both his arms and legs to position a medical deviceand actuate it simultaneously using the foot pedal 155 respectively.This may be an inefficient way for the surgeon to operate a device asthe simultaneous actuation of a foot pedal 155 and precise arm movementis not an intuitive function for most individuals.

The use of a foot pedal 155 in a surgical procedure may also imposeadditional wiring on the floor of the surgical suite, resulting inincreased tripping hazards in the operating room, which are dangerousand may cause serious harm to the patient if surgical personnel were totrip over such wiring.

An alternate procedural element actuation device utilizes a tool with anattached or integrated switch such as the Stryker Smart Instruments.When using such a tool, inefficiencies may occur in the followingcontexts. The tool may have a limit on its available area for a givenuser interface control containing switches for manipulation of elementsused during the surgical procedure. Reasons for such limits relate tothe user interface being integrated into the tool as opposed to aseparate control user interface. Since surgical tools are preciseinstruments to be manipulated by the surgeon, their weights, sizes, andoverall features greatly affect the dexterity of the surgeon. Therefore,increasing the size of the user interface control area for more numerousand/or larger more easily identifiable and accessible buttons may resultin heftier instruments again reducing the precision of the surgeon whenusing the tool. Additionally, when tools are engaged in minimallyinvasive surgeries, the tools must be manipulated within a smallcorridor. In this context increasing the size of the tool may not befeasible as it may occlude the view down the corridor or become toolarge as to restrict access of the tool into the corridor. Alternateissues are associated with placing an electronic user interface on asurgical tool. The electronics must be designed to withstand commonlyused sterilization processes. Viable ways of achieving such an abilityto withstand sterilization require the electronics to be bulkier andheavier than their non-integrated counterparts (e.g., the tool withoutthe user interface controller) as sterilization occurs at hightemperatures and pressures. Specifically, when sterilizing medicalinstruments using the autoclaving technique the instruments mustwithstand temperatures of 121 C-190 C and pressures of 15 psi-40 psi.

The manufacture and purchase of tools with built in user interfaces isalso problematic. Multiple surgical tools each having a built in userinterface (UI), for example, both a resection tool and bipolar pituitaryforceps, to be used within a surgical procedure will likely be morecostly than having a single surgical glove interface that can beintegrated with all potential tools the surgeon may use. An advantage tousing a single entity surgical glove interface disclosed herein is thatthe surgical glove interface may be configured to adaptively switchoutput selection such that the detection of the tool being used by thesystem sets the output of each of the buttons, as opposed to having aseparate user interface on each medical tool as would be required by asurgical tool with a built in user interface.

When utilizing a kinect based gesture control user interface to controlsurgical procedural elements, inefficiencies can occur in the followingcontexts. Such a user interface control requires the surgeon to removehis hands from the bimanual procedural position when performing thegestures required to control the user interface. In addition to thisrequirement, the surgeon must perform an initial gesture to initiate theKinect sensors and begin controlling the user interface which in turnincreases the time required for the surgery as opposed to being able toconstantly control the interface. A consequence of this user interfacecontrol system is that the surgeon has to remove his attention from thesurgical site of interest (or equivalently a display of the surgicalsite of interest) when performing gestures to control the system. Thisresults in the surgeon having to directionally reorient himself with thedisplay of the surgical site of interest with respect to the spatialorientation of the patient in the operating room when returning to thebimanual procedural position, which will also result in an increase ofthe total time of the surgical procedure. Since the Kinect sensor is adetector with an inherent field of view, the surgeon may additionallyhave to reposition himself away from his surgical procedural stance inorder to enter the correct field of view, to gain full control over thefunctionality of the user interface.

Referring back to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 illustrates a medical navigation system107 having an equipment tower 101, a tracking system 113, a display 111(e.g., to show a graphical user interface), an intelligent positioningsystem 175 and tracking markers 165 used to track medical instruments oran access port 100. Tracking system 113 may be considered an opticaltracking device or tracking camera.

In FIG. 3, a surgeon 103 is performing a tumor resection through a port100, using an imaging device 104 to view down the port at a sufficientmagnification to enable enhanced visibility of the instruments andtissues. The imaging device 104 may be an exoscope, videoscope, widefield camera, or an alternate image capturing device. The imaging sensorview is depicted on the visual display 111 which the surgeon 103 usesfor navigating the port's distal end through the anatomical region ofinterest. The foot pedal 155 is located in an accessible vicinity to thesurgeon's foot and is utilized to actuate an element used in theprocedure.

The intelligent positioning system 175 receives as input the spatialposition and pose data of the automated arm 102 and target (for examplethe port 100) as determined by tracking system 113 by detection of thetracking markers 165 on a wide field camera and the port 100.

The foot pedal 155 is located in an accessible vicinity to the surgeon'sfoot. Foot pedal 155 may be used to actuate an element used in theprocedure such as a neurosurgical drill, an illumination source,automated arm movement, a UI configuration, a resection device, anirrigation device, an imaging procedure, an imaging acquisition, achange of phase during surgery, or any other element requiring actuationduring a surgical procedure. Foot pedal 155 may have multiple activationinput configurations or modes as described in the following examples.

A first input configuration (or first mode) includes a binary switchmode in which a press of foot pedal 155 causes the foot pedal 155 tooutput a signal which actuates the state of a procedural element from“on” to “off” position. A second input configuration (or second mode) isa variable switch mode in which the output signal of the foot pedal isproportional to the degree of force applied to the pedal by the user. Athird input configuration (or third mode) may be a multiple switch modein which a press of the foot pedal cycles the element through variousmodes of function (i.e. modes of function of the element). It should benoted that all switches mentioned in this disclosure can be formed ofany mechanism to allow for control of or actuation of a device.

These input configurations can also be implemented in combinationsprovided the system utilizes more than one foot pedal as shown as 310 inFIG. 4. For example, given two foot pedals as shown in FIG. 4,combinations can be two binary switches, in which the combinedactivation of both foot pedals can result in an alternate output fromthe output of each foot pedal activated individually. Another examplecombination using two foot pedals can be two multiple switch modes inwhich the foot pedal outputs when both are activated can be differentfrom when the pedals are activated individually. Another example usingtwo foot pedals would be a binary switch and a multiple switch in whichthe output of the activation of both foot pedals may be different thanwhen the pedals are activated individually.

According to one aspect of the present description, a surgical gloveinterface described herein allows a surgeon to increase the efficiencyof surgical procedures using the presently available tools and systems.

Referring to FIG. 5, an exemplary surgical glove interface 500 is shownaccording to one aspect of the present disclosure. The surgical gloveinterface 500 aims to provide a more efficient user interface controlthan those mentioned above, which may take advantage of the bimanualprocedural position and commonly used finger positioning of a surgeonholding a surgical tool.

Typically, when performing a surgery, the surgeon's pinky and ringfinger are located near the palm, while the thumb index and middlefingers are used to manipulate the tools on both hands. Given the pinkyand ring fingers are free, the glove can be situated with a userinterface positioned on the palm, as shown by reference 504, to allowthe free fingers to press switches of the surgical glove interface 500,as illustrated by arcs 520 and 525.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary embodiment of such an interface where theswitches of the interface are integrated into the glove at thepositioning where the ring and pinky fingers are located during surgeryin region 504 during three finger bimanual manipulation of surgicaltools. In FIG. 5, the switches are formed of four buttons (502, 505,510, and 515), which in one example may each have an individual tactilepattern for easier differentiation.

The use of the surgical glove interface 500 may eliminate the need forthe surgeon to utilize his eyes to locate a switch, such as in the caseof foot pedals and the tool integrated controller user interface asdescribed above, as the controller of the surgical glove interface 500may be located in an easily accessible vicinity to the surgeon's ringand pinky fingertips throughout the performance of the surgery. Thismakes determining the position of the interface and associated switches502, 505, 510, 515 simply a matter of using the proprioception sense. Incontrast, both the use of the foot pedal and the tool integrated userinterface would require the surgeon to estimate the relative location ofthe switches on the foot pedal and the tool respectively relative to theengaging body part (e.g., the surgeon's foot and finger(s) respectively)in addition to using proprioception. The use of the surgical gloveinterface 500 may also substantially reduce or eliminate the need forthe surgeon to retract the tools from the bimanual procedural positionprematurely during the surgery to allow for control of the userinterface, such as when using the Kinect user interface controller.

A disadvantage of a tool integrated user interface controller is that itmay require the surgeon to alter his finger positioning to engage therelevant switches while performing surgery. This may reduce thesurgeon's precision with the tools as the finger positioning is notoptimized for dexterity. In contrast, the surgical glove interface 500depicted in FIG. 5 does not require the surgeon to substantially alterhis finger positioning to engage the relevant switches 502, 505, 510,515 while performing surgery. It should be noted that this positioninginvolves using the index finger, middle finger, and thumb to manipulatethe tool while the ring finger and pinky fingers are retracted into thepalm. The advantage of utilizing the surgical glove interface 500 isimportant as it allows the surgeon to freely manipulate the tools withmaximized precision, as opposed to manipulating the tools withinopportune finger positioning as in the conventional solutions. Thelocation of the region 504 of button interface depicted in FIG. 5 isaimed to be an ergonomic position and hence also allows the surgeon toremain comfortable throughout the procedure reducing fatigue in thesurgeon's hands while providing gains of in-hand control of proceduralelements.

The use of the surgical glove interface 500 may be implemented formultiple tools in a single surgical procedure where the surgical gloveinterface 500 configuration will change depending on what tools areused. This may make the surgical glove interface 500 a more economicallyviable option than having multiple tools with integrated user interfacecontrollers.

As mentioned above, having a tool integrated user interface controllerdecreases the tools precision as a result of various dimensionalconsiderations such as size of an access corridor in a minimallyinvasive surgery, increased dimensions of the tool, such as weight,height, length, width, etc. In contrast, when using the surgical gloveinterface 500, the interface is situated on the palm of the surgeon, andtherefore adding or reducing the features of the interface, such as atouch pad (described below), buttons, etc., do not affect the precisionof the tool being used. In addition, the palm of a surgeon willgenerally have more available space in comparison to a surgical toolhandle (e.g., without integrated user interface controller) allowing fora larger user interface controller area.

When presently performing surgery many surgeons utilize a foot pedalwhile simultaneously maneuvering their surgical tools in the surgicalarea of interest, for example when resecting a tumor a surgeon willcontrol the removal rate of the resection device with his foot and theresection device's position in the surgical area of interest with hishand, inclusive of the arm. In general, a surgeon's fingers are moreagile and precise in applying force than his foot. The surgical gloveinterface 500 takes advantage of this fact and allows both thepositioning of the tool and its control user interface to be managed bythe hand of an individual surgeon. Also, since the surgical gloveinterface 500 is not located on the ground, the additional hazardouswiring mentioned above will be alleviated in the operating room.

Referring to FIG. 6, a block diagram is shown illustrating an exemplarymedical navigation system 600 that may be used in the systems shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, and may also be used with the surgical glove interface500 shown in FIG. 5. An example embodiment of a medical navigationsystem 600 inclusive of an exemplary surgical glove interface 500disclosed herein is provided in FIG. 6 in a block diagram. The exemplarysurgical glove interface 500 is illustrated by reference 620 in FIG. 6.Surgical glove interface 620 (also referred to hereafter as an interfacecomponent 620) contains a controller 622, emergency stop 601, switches615, power source or power supply module 625, and a wirelesscommunications interface 605 (which, in one example, maybe a Bluetoothtransmitter). The exemplary power supply module 625 may be portable andrechargeable and may be connected to each of the other exemplarycomponents of the interface component 620. The exemplary surgical gloveinterface 620 may function in the manner described as follows.

When the switch 615 is triggered, switch 615 provides a control signal675, which corresponds to a command to the controller 622. Thecontroller 622 then encodes the control signal 675 into a digital signal623 and relays this digital signal to the wireless communicationsinterface 605. This signal is then encoded and relayed by the wirelesscommunications interface 605 over a radio frequency wirelesscommunication channel 680 using, for example, Bluetooth protocol. Theoutput signal is then received by a wireless interface 610, which in oneexample may be a Bluetooth transceiver employing the Bluetooth protocol,and is decoded and relayed to the medical navigation system controller660. The medical navigation system controller 660 then reads the controlsignal 675 and outputs the corresponding control signals 665 to thevarious devices used in the medical procedure. While a Bluetoothprotocol is provided as an example, any suitable wireless communicationssystem and protocol may be used to meet the design criteria of aparticular application, such as Wi-Fi, irDA, or any other suitablesystem and/or protocol.

The medical navigation system 600 may further interface with trackedtools 645 and control optical electronics or light sources 655 usingcontrol signal 665 provided to the optical payload 650.

Examples of various devices 635 and their exemplary command inputs aredepicted in the charts shown in FIG. 7 and are described in detail asfollows. Chart 700 describes exemplary surgical glove interface 500output commands that can be used to control the listed surgical tools.An exemplary surgical tool that is commonly utilized in surgery is thebipolar forceps (e.g., electrocautery device), with which a surgeon isable to cauterize vital blood vessels to prevent excessive bleeding. Acommand that can be actuated using the surgical glove interface 500(e.g., as depicted in FIG. 5) would be to activate the forceps forcauterization, such as by applying a voltage across the separated tips.A second commonly used surgical tool would be a resection device. Thesurgical glove interface 500 can be used to implement commands to thisdevice such as the implemented suction force and whether the device isin tissue removal mode (e.g., tissue removal blade activated) or tissuemanipulation mode (e.g., tissue removal blade deactivated). The suctionforce command will determine at what rate tissue will be resected by thedevice while the removal mode command will indicate to the device to cutthe tissue or not. The resection tool commands are analogous to thethird surgical tool, the neurosurgical drill, which may also becontrolled by the surgical glove interface 500 by the surgeon. Commandsfor this device may turn the drill on and off and may also dictate thespeed of the drill as to minimize trauma to the patient in the form ofvibrational pressure and increase the drill's effectiveness. Anotherexemplary surgical tool that may be controlled by the surgical gloveinterface 500 is a Raman imaging probe. The surgical glove interface 500may send commands via the various controllers 622, 660 to this device todictate its acquisition rate, its acquisition area, its acquisitionwavelength band, and when it acquires data.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a number of tables are shown describing inputcommands for exemplary surgical instruments that can be coupled with thesurgical glove interface 500 shown in FIG. 5. Chart 705 in FIG. 7describes specific surgical glove interface 500 output commands that canbe implemented by the medical navigation system 600 graphical userinterface (GUI). These commands have various functions that can allowthe surgeon to remotely manipulate, navigate, and utilize the GUIwithout having to remove tools from the bimanual procedural position.The four exemplary commands depicted in the chart will be described inmore detail as follows. The first command, scroll, can be used to scrollthrough various menus on the UI such as “Choose Display Image”, “DisplayOptions”, “Display Configurations”, “Next Phase”, etc. These variousoptions can be chosen using the scroll select command, and may result inan additional drop down menu that can be scrolled through and selectedusing the same system of commands (i.e. scroll and scroll select). Anexample additional drop down menu for “Display Options” may be comprisedof the following options “Brightness”, “Contrast”, “Colour Balance”,etc. and can be used to configure the picture properties displayed onthe screen. Additional commands that can be implemented by the surgicalglove interface 500 can be used to directly actuate the GUI to executean option or configuration. Given a surgical glove interface 500 such asdepicted in FIG. 5, each button may be used to actuate a differentoption or configuration of the GUI directly. For example, buttons 505and 510 may be used to configure the GUI in “Fine Resection Phase” and“Cannulation Phase” layouts as predetermined by the system. For example,in the “Cannulation Phase” layout the GUI may automatically display thedepth that the port 100 is penetrated into the brain. The alternativebuttons 502 and 515 may be used to directly auto adjust the brightnessof the display and scroll through displayed images such as a T1, T2, andDTI.

In addition to or in place of the buttons 502, 505, 510, 515 shown inthe surgical glove interface 500, a joy stick, touch pad, directionalpad, or scroll pad may be used on the surgical glove to allow the userto navigate the GUI using a cursor as opposed to iteratively scrollingthrough options using a button switch.

Chart 710 describes specific surgical glove interface 500 outputcommands that may be used to control an imaging device 104 (FIG. 3).These commands have various functions that can allow the surgeon tomanipulate and configure the imaging device to acquire desiredintraoperative imaging, without having to remove his tools from thebimanual procedural position at the surgical area of interest. The fourexemplary commands depicted in the chart will be described in moredetail as follows. The first command scroll can be used to scrollthrough various options of the imaging device such as “Zoom”, “ImagingMode”, “Illumination”, “Next Phase”, etc. These various options can bechosen using the scroll select command, and may result in an additionaldrop down menu if selected that can be scrolled through and selectedusing the same system of commands. An example additional drop down menufor “Imaging Mode” may be comprised of the following additional options“Visible”, “NIR”, “Hyperspectral”, etc. If any of the mentionedexemplary drop down menu commands are selected the imaging device willbegin to image in the selected mode. Additional commands that can beimplemented by the surgical glove interface 500 can be used to directlyactuate the imaging device to execute an option or configuration. Forexample, buttons 505, 510, and 515 shown in FIG. 5 may be used todirectly configure the imaging device in “NIR”, “Hyperspectral”, and“Visible Light” imaging modes as predetermined by the system. Thealternate button 502 may be used to directly automatically adjust theillumination spectrum to optimize the colour balance.

Chart 715 describes specific surgical glove interface 500 outputcommands that can be used to control an automated arm 102 (FIG. 3).These commands have various functions that can allow the surgeon tomanipulate and configure the automated arm to mobilize in a particularmanner of movement, without having to remove the tools from the bimanualprocedural position at the surgical area of interest. The two exemplarycommands depicted in the chart will be described in more detail asfollows. The first command actuate can be used to scroll through twomovement options listed as “Coaxial Alignment” and “CannulationAlignment”. These movement options will result in the automated armcoaxially aligning with the port 100 or aligning at a predeterminedangle to the port 100 optimized for cannulation into the brainrespectively. The second command “control” can be used to manuallyposition the arm through the use of a controller located on the surgicalglove interface 500, such as a joystick, a directional pad, or a touchpad.

In another example, the switches 502, 505, 510, 515 may be manufacturedwith physical patterns that can be used to differentiate between thebuttons using touch, for example a textured surface for tactileidentification by a wearer. In the example depicted in FIG. 5, thebuttons 502, 505, 510, and 515 were produced with physical patterns thatcan be used to identify, through the sensation of touch, each buttonuniquely. This is advantageous because it allows the surgeon to readilydetermine which button he is pressing with reduced chance of the surgeonremoving his visual focus from the surgical site of interest because thebuttons 502, 505, 510, and 515 are strategically placed so the buttons502, 505, 510, 515 may be easily located using proprioception and easilyidentified given the patterns render them differentiable through thesensation of touch.

Referring to FIG. 8, a flow chart is shown describing a method 800illustrating the general steps in a port based neurosurgical procedure.An example phase breakdown of the port based surgical operationmentioned is shown in FIG. 8. A description of an exemplary surgicalglove interface 500 corresponding applicability in each of the phases isprovided below. The description exemplifies the use of the surgicalglove interface 500 in streamlining the surgical process during eachphase.

At 810, the first phase in the port based neurosurgical procedure is theincision of the scalp and craniotomy. During this stage, the surgicalglove interface 500 depicted in FIG. 5 can be implemented to control theneurosurgical drill. Exemplary commands provided by the surgical gloveinterface 500 to be configured with the drill are shown in chart 700 inFIG. 7 and described above in further detail.

At 820, once the incision and craniotomy are completed, the surgeryenters the “Guidance of Access Port” phase and the surgical gloveinterface 500 can be implemented to control the automated arm 102 (FIG.3). During this phase the port is penetrated into the brain until itreaches the target (e.g., usually a tumor) depth. Exemplary commands thesurgical glove interface 500 may be configured to provide to theautomated arm are shown in chart 710 in FIG. 7 and are described abovein further detail. One specific command relevant to this phase of thesurgery may be “Activate cannulation alignment movement”. This commandwhen activated by the surgeon will cause the automated arm to align atsuch a position to allow the imaging device to view the cannulation ofthe port at an angle. This would expose the graduation marks on the portto the surgeon to inform him of the depth of the port penetrated withinthe brain.

In the next phases 830 and 840, which are usually simultaneous, thesurgical glove interface 500 shown in FIG. 5 may be used to aid in boththe resection control during gross de-bulking of unhealthy brain tissueas well as imaging control in case an alternate imaging modality may berequired. During these steps, the surgeon 103 may activate the surgicalglove interface 500 to control a resection tool suction speed whenresecting unhealthy tissue, as shown in chart 700 in FIG. 7. Anexemplary resection tool is the Myriad™ produced by NICO. An additionalcontrol the surgeon has over a resection tool is the ability to activateand deactivate the device as required. The second simultaneous step inthis procedure is managing any bleeding that may occur within thesurgical area of interest. During surgery a common occurrence is therupturing of a blood vessel. If such a situation occurs, heavy bleedingprecedes it, which can be problematic for viewing the surgical area ofinterest and closing the wound accordingly. The surgical glove interface500 can be utilized in this situation to configure the imaging device toutilize near infrared (NIR) imaging. The advantages of NIR imaging whenviewing blood is its increased penetration depth in blood, rendering itmore transparent when compared to imaging using visible light.

After the bulk resection phase the surgical procedure enters the nexttwo phases of fine-resection 860 and bleeding management 850, which areusually done simultaneously. In these phases, the surgeon removes thetumor from the fringes of healthy tissue, by differentiating, using hisknowledge, between the healthy and unhealthy tissue. Duringfine-resection, the surgical glove interface 500 may be configured toimplement the Raman probe surgical tool to acquire spectrums and utilizethe spectrums to differentiate more effectively between healthy andunhealthy brain tissue at the boundary of a tumor 102, for example.

Exemplary commands of such a device are provided in chart 700 in FIG. 7and described above in further detail. Another tool that can be actuatedusing the surgical glove interface 500 to manage bleeding once thesource is located is the electrocautery tool. This tool can be used tocauterize a blood vessel or other bodily tissue to effectively close thewound. Exemplary commands that can be integrated into the surgical gloveinterface 500 for this tool are also depicted in chart 700 in FIG. 7 andare described above in further detail.

At 870, the next phase of surgery, tissue margin treatment involvesdelivering therapeutic agents to the surgical site to treat anyremaining unhealthy tissue in the area and assure an optimal recovery ofthe patient. The surgical glove interface 500 may be implemented in thisstep to control a device to deliver a therapeutic solution. In thisexample, the surgical glove interface 500 may be used to configure thedevice to deliver a specific type of therapeutic solution. In anotherexample, the surgical glove interface 500 may be used to control the GUIto create a mixture of the correct solution similar to a user interfacecontrol device such as a computer mouse.

At 880, the final step involves the removal of the port and closure ofthe wound in addition to the application of materials to assist inhealing the surgical area. In this step the surgical glove interface 500may be used to control an irrigation device to clean the surgical areaof interest before the surgeon exits. Exemplary commands that can beintegrated into the surgical glove interface 500 for this tool areprovided in chart 700 shown in FIG. 7 and are described above in furtherdetail.

While a number of examples of commands are provided that can beimplemented using the surgical glove interface 500, the controller 622and the medical navigation system 600 can be configured to implement anysuitable control configuration for any number of medical tools orequipment according to the design criteria of a particular application.

While the surgical glove interface 500 described above allows forimproved efficacy of surgical procedures, instruments in the surgicalsuite should adhere to minimum standards and requirements to beimplemented safely. In particular, there exist design considerationsthat must be taken into account to allow for the glove 500 to improvethe efficacy of surgical procedures as mentioned.

Referring to FIG. 9, some exemplary non-limiting considerations areprovided in the table 900. In particular, the interface 500 to beapplied to a surgical glove may be integrated: (a) on top of a presentlyused surgical glove, (b) into a surgical glove, or (c) below orunderneath a surgical glove.

The first row of the table 900 refers to the need to sterilize thesurgical glove interface 500 before use by the surgeon. This requirementstems from the fact that a strict requirement during surgical proceduresis the sterility of the environment around the patient. Any equipmentand personnel in and around the patient must adhere to these strictsterility standards to ensure no diseases are transferred to the patientthrough their open wounds. This results in the application of harsh buteffective sterilization methods to equipment used directly on or withinthe vicinity of the surgical site of interest. The most commonsterilization method used presently in hospitals is autoclaving. Thismethod involves exposing all equipment to steam under high temperatureand pressure. Given the pressures and temperatures in this process canreach up to 40 psi and 375° F., this method can be problematic for anymaterials without the required structural integrity.

Since the example of the surgical glove interface 500 being integratedbelow or underneath a surgical glove results in the surgical gloveinterface 500 not being in direct contact with the patient, thesterilization requirement can be omitted. Alternatively, since both theexample of the surgical glove interface 500 being integrated on top of asurgical glove and into a surgical glove may result in some of the partsbeing exposed to the area around the patient when the glove is in use,these surgical glove interfaces 500 may have to be sterilizable.

In the case of the autoclave example mentioned above, surgical gloveinterfaces 500 must be able to withstand 40 psi and 375° F. Since thesurgical glove interfaces 500 may involve the use of electronics forfunctionality, the electronic components must be either shielded fromthe mentioned environmental factors or able to withstand these factors.Some examples of shielding components that can be used in conjunctionwith electronics are provided by Schott North America Inc™. Particularconsiderations for the surgical glove interface 500 being integratedinto a surgical glove design is the sterilization barrier and methods ofmanufacturing such a connection. The sterilization barrier refers to theconnection of two materials and how that connection is ensured to besterile and preventative of disease passing from one side of the barrierto the other. In one example, this may be a barrier between a button andthe surgical glove interface. Other requirements for sterility includeensuring the barrier of the glove does not tear.

The second row of the table 900 in FIG. 9 refers to the structuralintegrity of the glove that must adhere to particular standards to beutilized in the surgical suite. This requirement is a result ofsterility requirement, explained above. To preserve sterility the glovemust not tear from regular use, the specific requirements of which arewell documented and known to those skilled in the relevant arts. Forexample, the minimum tensile strength of synthetic rubber gloves may be17 MPa and the minimum ultimate elongation may be 650%. Therefore, whendesigning the surgical glove interface 500 described herein, thementioned mechanical properties may adhere to the known minimumrequirements. Another result of these requirements is that any surgicalglove interface 500 should not cause the mechanical properties of theglove with which it is used to be jeopardized. Example considerationsmay include smooth device edges to prevent catching of the glove on theedges resulting in accidental tearing.

The third row of the table 900 in FIG. 9 refers to the desire toconserve the dexterity of the surgeon. During surgical procedures,minimizing the hindrance of a surgeon's dexterity when using hissurgical tools is a high priority. Various design parameters can beimplemented to meet this priority with respect to the surgical gloveinterface 500, disclosed herein. Example parameters which optimizedexterity of the surgeon when utilizing the surgical glove interface 500are provided as follows. Firstly, the surgical glove interface 500 mayprovide the surgeon functionality with his hands that most closelymimics the surgeon's functionality with his hands without the use of thesurgical glove interface 500 (such as making the glove very thin andlight). This parameter allows the surgeon greater comfort in movementand maneuverability of his hands without having to adjust his motorcontrol for less flexibility and also allows the surgeon the greatestuse of his touch sense to maneuver any tissues and surgical instrumentshe may be operating with. Secondly, the surgical glove interface 500 mayprovide improved grip, which increases the surgeon's ability toprecisely maneuver any surgical instruments and tissues the surgeonoperates on, for example loss of grip due to fluid on the hands such assweat, blood, or other bodily fluids. Presently manufactured surgicalgloves address these needs by providing gloves made of a material tominimize thickness, maximize flexibility, maximize grip, and adhere tothe structural integrity required to resist active wear and tear over asingle surgery. Thinner gloves allow for a better sense of feel as thereis less material between the hands and the object and thereforeperturbations of the surface of the glove are more easily transferredthrough the material. Choosing a glove with the correct materialcomposition may allow the glove to be flexible enough so as to notrestrict the surgeon's movement, have a stronger grip depending on itssurface friction, and adhere to structural integrity requirements to notendanger the sterility barrier by accidental tearing through regularuse.

Given that the fingers are the part of the hand most associated withdexterity when utilizing surgical tools to perform operations, it wouldalso be advantageous to provide a surgical glove interface 500 thatleaves the finger segments of the glove unobstructed, as discusses belowin connection with FIGS. 10 and 11.

The fourth row of the table 900 in FIG. 9 refers to the desire to reducethe amount of fatigue experienced by the surgeon during a surgicaloperation. This consideration in the design of the surgical gloveinterface 500 disclosed herein may refer to the weight of the glove inthat heavier gloves would result in the surgeon's arms becoming fatiguedfaster as compared to using a glove of lesser weight. While including adevice on the surgical glove interface 500 will definitively increasethe weight of the surgical glove interface 500, minimizing this weightto not significantly increase the weight from the presently used gloveswould result in an optimal outcome of the design.

The fifth row of the table 900 in FIG. 9 refers to the desire tomaximize the tactical feel of any switches located on the surgical gloveinterface 500. Given the surgical glove interface 500 disclosed hereinmay involve the use of touch for actuation of the switches 502, 510,515, 520, tactile feel becomes an important consideration when designinga surgical glove interface 500 for use in the surgical suite. Ingeneral, the surgeon should be able to maneuver and utilize the switches502, 510, 515, 520 with minimal effort and maximum accuracy. To minimizeeffort, the switches 502, 510, 515, 520 may be placed such that theswitches 502, 510, 515, 520 are easy to access from the bimanualmanipulation position and easy to actuate without requiring more forcethan necessary to ensure purposeful actuation. Meeting the mentioneddesign considerations would not only allow for greater ergonomic ease inutilization of the switches 502, 510, 515, 520, but would also reducethe fatigue of the surgeon by requiring less force application.

The sixth row of the table 900 in FIG. 9 refers to the consideration ofthe use of multiple tools during a surgery. During a surgical procedure,a surgeon typically utilizes a multiplicity of instruments which involvea multiplicity of hand placements. Some examples are endosurgicalforceps, resection devices, tissue maneuvering devices, and surgicaldrilling devices. Where the surgical forceps would require the surgeonto hold a device in a similar manner to holding a pair of scissors thesurgical drill would require the surgeon to grasp the handle with hisentire palm. From these two hand placement examples, it is apparent thatthe surgical glove interface 500 may aim to compensate for the use ofmultiple devices without hindering the surgeon's ability to utilize suchdevices.

In addition, when in use the surgical glove interface 500 may be used tocontrol multiple devices so as the surgeon changes devices the UIconfiguration of the surgical glove interface 500 changes to supporteach device. This consideration may result in the surgical gloveinterface 500 being designed such that all of the required devices aresupported, as well as having a layout to accommodate all the instrumentsthe surgical glove interface 500 would be able to control.

The seventh row of the table 900 in FIG. 9 refers to the desire toutilize a wireless connection to communicate between the surgical gloveinterface 500 (e.g., outputs of the switches 502, 505, 510, 515) and themedical navigation system 600, such as the systems shown in FIGS. 2, 3,and 6. During a surgical operation the surgeon needs to orient himselfin the surgical suite to perform any necessary movements and actionsrequired to assure patient trauma is minimized. If the surgical gloveinterface 500 is not wireless, this could lead to issues such as thesurgeon being bound to a particular zone. In most cases this bindingwouldn't be an issue but in cases were irregularities occur andemergency procedures come into play this may present a detrimentalconstraint. Therefore, one aspect of the present description includesthe surgical glove interface 500 being compatible with a wirelesscommunicator.

The table provided in FIG. 9 indicates which features are desirable foreach of the three examples where the surgical glove interface 500 may beintegrated: (a) on top of a presently used surgical glove (e.g., “overglove” shown in FIG. 9, (b) into a surgical glove (“integrated intoglove” shown in FIG. 9, or (c) below or underneath a surgical glove(“under glove” shown in FIG. 9). Some examples of these are discussedbelow.

In one example, an interface component is provided for use with a firstglove and a medical equipment component. The interface componentcomprises a plurality of switches located on the first glove. Each ofthe plurality of switches provides a control signal to the medicalequipment component. The interface component may further comprise acontroller coupled to the plurality of switches; a power supply modulecoupled to the controller; and a wireless communications interfacecoupled to the controller in communication with a wireless interface ofthe medical equipment component.

Referring to FIG. 10, an example surgical glove interface (e.g., alsoreferred to generally as an interface component), such as the surgicalglove interface 500, to be applied to a surgical glove 1000, where theinterface is positioned below or underneath the surgical glove 1000 isshown. The interface component may be used with a first glove 1020 withan integrated user interface device 1040. In one example, the firstglove 1020 may be fingerless and the user interface device 1040 may bepositioned on the palm. A benefit of the first glove 1020 being below orunderneath a second glove such as the surgical glove 1000 is that thesurgical glove 1000 performs as an outer barrier to protect the patientand the surgical glove 1000 already adheres to the required structuralintegrity standards needed to be used in the surgical suite. The firstglove 1020 may be made of a flexible elastic material, such as spandex,a polyester cotton blend, latex, neoprene, vinyl, nitrile rubber, orother applicable polymers and materials. However, any other suitablematerial may be used to meet the design criteria of a particularapplication. Spandex would allow the first glove 1020 to conform to theneeds for dexterity as spandex does not constrain the surgeon's handmovements. In the example where the first glove 1020 is fingerless, thesurgeon's fingers, which are primarily used to handle the surgicalinstruments, may not incur any significant reduction in dexterity. Theuser interface device 1040 may be formed of a plurality of switches 1025(e.g., the switches 502, 505, 510, 515 shown in FIG. 5), where each ofthe plurality of switches 1025 may provide a control signal to a medicalequipment component, such as the medical navigation systems shown inFIGS. 2, 3, and 6. In one example, the plurality of switches 1025 mayinclude flexible pressure sensors that may be configured to actuate at agiven minimum pressure and may be used in either binary or variableswitch modes. Using flexible pressure sensors may not constrain thesurgeon's movements allowing the surgeon to maintain his dexterity.

The plurality of switches 1025 may also be lightweight, therebyminimizing fatigue of the surgeon's arms and may be autoclavableallowing the switches 1025 to be sterilized. The switches 1025 may bethin in addition to being flexible, which reduces the likeliness of theswitches 1025 catching the second surgical glove 1000 and potentiallycausing unsafe tears. An example of a suitable sensor for use as theswitches 1025 is the FlexiForce® Model HT201. For tactility, theflexible sensors may be designed similar to the buttons 502, 505, 510,and 515 shown in FIG. 5, where each button has a unique raised patternthat can be felt through the surgical glove 1000 by the surgeon. Inother words, the plurality of switches 1025 may each have a texturedsurface for tactile identification by a wearer of the first glove 1000.In another example, the second surgical glove 1000 to be worn over thesurgical glove interface 500 (e.g., the first glove 1020 including theuser interface device 1040) may be designed with additional slack andless material specifically positioned where the flexible switches 1025would be located during use.

The interface component may also include a controller (e.g., thecontroller 622) coupled to the plurality of switches 1025 (e.g.,switches 615), a power supply module (e.g., the power supply module 625)coupled to the controller, and a wireless communications interface(e.g., the interface 605) coupled to the controller in communicationwith a wireless interface (e.g., the interface 610) of the medicalequipment component (e.g., the medical navigation system 600). Inanother example, the plurality of switches 1025 may each be coupled tothe medical equipment component with physical wire 1010, which may makeit unnecessary for the first glove 1020 to have a controller, powersupply, and wireless communications interface integrated therein. Theplurality of switches 1025 may be in a location on a palm of the firstglove 1020 that is accessible to fingers of a hand that is insertableinto the first glove 1020. The plurality of switches may alternativelybe located either at the back of the first glove 1020 and or the side ofthe first glove 1020. Alternatively, the wires 1010 may lead to acontroller (e.g., the controller 622), a power supply module (e.g., thepower supply module 625) coupled to the controller, and a wirelesscommunications interface (e.g., the interface 605) that is placed in alocation away from the first glove 1020, such as attached to an arm orbelt of the surgeon.

Referring now to FIG. 11, another example of the surgical gloveinterface (e.g., an interface component) shown in FIG. 10 is shown. Inthe example shown in FIG. 11, a thin, semi-rigid or substantially rigidboard 1100 may be placed underneath the switches 1025 to help moreevenly distribute the force over the palm resulting in less compressionto the skin of the hand and more force transfer to the switches 1025.The use of the board 1100 may also aid in increasing the tactility ofthe switches 1025. To compensate for the use of multiple instruments, adetection system could be used to identify which medical instrumentswere being used. Based on the instrument, the interface component may beconfigured with new switch outputs and consequent functionalityincluding being in a disabled state to allow for manual use of toolssuch as a drill. Methods of detecting which instruments would be in useinclude using radio frequency ID (RFID) tags on the instruments fordetection, as well as optical detection methods such as active markerson the instruments. Since a wireless connection may be used between theinterface component and the medical navigation system (e.g., the systemsshown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 6), a Bluetooth dongle may be coupled to theinterface component and used to transmit the output of the interfacecomponent. The dongle may be located on the surgeon anywhere under thesterile barrier and attached to the interface component via the wires1130 shown in FIG. 11.

Alternate embodiments of the interface component include the interfacecomponent including the first glove 1020 being placed on top of thesecond surgical glove 1000. An example of this can be seen in FIG. 11,where the interface component includes a flexible touch pad 1120. Inanother example, surgical glove interface 500 shown in FIG. 5, employsthe buttons 502, 505, 510, and 515.

An additional embodiment integrates the interface component includingthe first glove into a surgical glove (e.g., the first glove is, infact, a surgical glove itself—shown as 1030 in FIG. 10) where any of thefeatures discusses above may be built right into the material of apresently used or specially designed surgical glove interfaces so theycome as a single piece.

The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way ofexample, and it should be understood that these embodiments may besusceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should befurther understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to theparticular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope ofthis disclosure.

We claim:
 1. An interface component for use with a first glove and amedical equipment component, the interface component comprising: atleast one switch located on the first glove, each of the at least oneswitch providing a control signal to the medical equipment component. 2.The interface component according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneswitch includes a plurality of switches and the interface componentfurther comprises: a controller coupled to the plurality of switches; apower supply module coupled to the controller; and a wirelesscommunications interface coupled to the controller in communication witha wireless interface of said medical equipment component.
 3. Theinterface component according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneswitch is coupled to the medical equipment component with physical wire.4. The interface component according to claim 1, wherein the at leastone switch is in a location on a palm of the first glove that isaccessible to fingers of a hand that is insertable into the first glove.5. The interface component according to claim 1, wherein the at leastone switch is located in at least one of a back of the first glove and aside of the first glove.
 6. The interface component according to claim1, wherein the first glove includes a surgical glove and the interfacecomponent is integrated into the surgical glove.
 7. The interfacecomponent according to claim 1, wherein the first glove is designed tobe used with a second surgical glove and the first glove is wearableunderneath the second surgical glove.
 8. The interface componentaccording to claim 1, wherein the first glove is designed to be usedwith a second surgical glove and the first glove is wearable over top ofthe second surgical glove.
 9. The interface component according to claim1, wherein the medical equipment component includes a medical navigationsystem used when performing surgery and the first glove is wearable by asurgeon.
 10. The interface component according to claim 1, wherein theat least one switch includes a plurality of switches and each switch isselected from the group consisting of a joystick, a touchpad, a button,and a slider.
 11. The interface component according to claim 1, whereinthe at least one switch includes a plurality of switches and theplurality of switches each has a different textured surface for tactileidentification by a wearer of the first glove.
 12. The interfacecomponent according to claim 1, wherein the at least one switch includesa plurality of switches and the plurality of switches is selected fromthe group consisting of a binary switch, a variable switch, and aflexible pressure sensor.
 13. The interface component according to claim2, wherein the wireless communications interface is selected from thegroup consisting of Bluetooth, Wifi, and iRDA.
 14. The interfacecomponent according to claim 1, wherein the first glove is fabricatedusing a material that is elastic and suitable for sterilization.
 15. Theinterface component according to claim 14, wherein the first glove ismade of any one of latex and spandex.
 16. The interface componentaccording to claim 2, wherein the power supply module includes arechargeable battery selected from the group consisting of nickel-metalhydride (NiMH), nickel-cadmium (NiCd), lithium ion, and lithium polymer.17. The interface component according to claim 2, wherein the interfacecomponent further includes a transducer coupled to the controller forproviding an output, the transducer including at least one of a lightemitting device for providing a visual alert, a sound emitting devicefor providing an audible alert, and a vibratory device for providing atactile alert.
 18. An interface component for use with a surgical gloveand a medical equipment component, the interface component comprising:at least one switch located on the interface component, each of the atleast one switch providing a control signal to the medical equipmentcomponent, the interface component being wearable on a hand of a surgeonunderneath the surgical glove.
 19. The interface component according toclaim 18, wherein the at least one switch includes a plurality ofswitches and interface component further comprises: a controller coupledto the plurality of switches; a power supply module coupled to thecontroller; and a wireless communications interface coupled to thecontroller in communication with a wireless interface of said medicalequipment component.
 20. The interface component according to claim 18,wherein the at least one switch includes a plurality of switches and theplurality of switches includes flexible pressure switches located on theinterface component, the interface component being flexible.